Penn State-Akron home opener set for noon kick

Penn State-Akron home opener set for noon kick Sept. 6

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's home opener with Akron is set for a noon kick in Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions' sixth announced start time for the 2014 season.

ABC will televise coach James Franklin’s first game on the Beaver Stadium sidelines to a regional audience, with the game airing on ESPN or ESPN2 throughout the remainder of the nation. The game also will air on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.

The Nittany Lions have posted an on-field mark of 4-0 against Akron, with the last meeting resulting in a 31-7 Penn State win in 2009. The Zips are coached by Terry Bowden.

Penn State will celebrate Red, White and Blue Community Hero Day at the home opener. First responders will be celebrated and recognized throughout the game. First responders can purchase tickets for the Akron game at a reduced rate by calling 800-NITTANY from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.

At halftime of the Akron game, Penn State’s 1994 undefeated Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship team will be honored during its 20th reunion. The Nittany Lions featured five first-team All-Americans: Kyle Brady, Ki-Jana Carter, Kerry Collins, Bobby Engram and Jeff Hartings; and became the first Big Ten team to earn a 12-0 record by beating Oregon in the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions broke the Big Ten record by averaging 48.1 points in conference play, a mark that still stands.

The home opener also is Scout Day, with all Boy Scout and Girl Scout organizations able to purchase tickets at a reduced rate by calling 800-NITTANY.

The contest with Akron is among the four games included in the new Penn State partial season ticket plan, which also includes the Big Ten clashes against Ohio State, Maryland and Michigan State. The partial season ticket plan, which represents a nearly five percent savings from the single game prices, are available only by calling 800-NITTANY. More than 200 partial season ticket plans were sold July 15, the first day for public single game and partial season ticket plan sales.

The Akron game is Penn State’s sixth announced kick time for the 2014 season. Franklin’s Nittany Lions will open the season Aug. 30 vs. UCF in the Croke Park Classic. The game will kick at 1:30 p.m. in Dublin, Ireland (8:30 a.m.) and air on ESPN2, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. Penn State will be playing its first international game in its 128-year history when it travels to Ireland to meet the Knights.

Penn State opens Big Ten play at Rutgers on Sept. 13. The contest between the old rivals, and new Big Ten East Division foes, will kick at 8 p.m. and air on BTN, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. Penn State will host Northwestern in its 95th Homecoming game at noon Sept. 27. The Nittany Lions will visit Michigan on Oct. 11 for a 7 p.m. clash that will air on ESPN or ESPN2. The Big Ten East Division contest will be Michigan’s first Big Ten home night game. Penn State will host Ohio State on Oct. 25, with the East Division clash set for an 8 p.m. kick on ABC, ESPN or ESPN.

Rutgers and Maryland joined the Big Ten on July 1 and Penn State will play both annually as East Division foes. The Nittany Lions host the Terrapins on Nov. 1. The three schools are joined by Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State in the East Division.

The remaining two Penn State kick times and TV information will occur within the Big Ten’s six or 12-day selection process.

Every Penn State football game has been televised the past 10 seasons and 240 of the last 242 contests overall have been on TV. All Penn State football, and men’s and women’s basketball games air on the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.

Franklin was named Penn State's 16th head football coach on Jan. 11. A product of Langhorne, Pa., Franklin led Vanderbilt University to unprecedented success the past three years as head coach, including consecutive nine-win seasons and bowl victories the past two years, as well as back-to-back Top 25 finishes, all for the first time in Vanderbilt history. In his 20th year of coaching, Franklin was a two-time All- Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterback at East Stroudsburg University and set or tied 23 school records.

Nearly 4,900 new Penn State football season tickets have been sold for the 2014 campaign. There again was no increase in season tickets prices for Penn State football for the upcoming season.

Alumni and fans are able to purchase Penn State football season tickets and make their Nittany Lion Club donation online at GoPSUsports.com/seasontickets, while choosing their own seats by utilizing Virtual Venue. New season tickets also are available by calling 800-NITTANY from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.

Alumni and fans also are able to choose their own football single game seats online by utilizing the Ticketmaster Interactive Seat Map. Single game tickets are available at www.PSUnrivaled.com, by calling 800-NITTANY or visiting the Bryce Jordan Center Box Office.

Public single game tickets are not available for the Oct. 25 primetime clash with Ohio State, which is a Penn State White Out game. Single game tickets for the 8 p.m. contest vs. the Buckeyes are available exclusively to Nittany Lion Club members via the NLC member sale or with the purchase of new season or partial season ticket plans.

The Recent Graduate ticket program gives Penn State graduates who earned an undergraduate degree from 2010-14 at any campus the opportunity to purchase up to two season tickets for $300 per ticket for the seven-game home schedule this fall. The cost includes a $50 donation to the Nittany Lion Club and is a savings of 35 percent from the regular $460 season ticket price ($360 + $100 NLC donation). More than 700 Recent Graduate program season tickets have been sold. Interested recent graduates can call 800-NITTANY from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.

Penn State returns 40 letterwinners and 15 starters (seven offense, seven defense, one specialist) for the upcoming season and will play a trio of 2013 Top 10 teams this fall. The Nittany Lions will host Rose Bowl Champion Michigan State (Nov. 29), Ohio State (8 p.m. Oct. 25), Northwestern (noon Sept. 27-Homecoming) and Maryland (Nov. 1) during its 2014 Big Ten home schedule. Penn State will host Akron (noon Sept. 6), UMass (Sept. 20) and Temple (Nov. 15) during its non-conference slate.

The Nittany Lions open the season Aug. 30 vs. UCF in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland.